by Sicily Yoder
Esther raced downstairs, her pulse racing a she headed to help Mamm and Emma. Would she be too late? Should she run to the shanty first and call for help?
Horror washed over Esther as she neared the bodies. The impact had crushed their skulls. A deep heaviness entered Esther’s stomach, and she trembled. She mustered the power to try to stay calm as she willed her legs to the shanty. How long would it take help to arrive, and would they be too late?
The shanty seemed to be a mile away, but Esther finally reached it. She picked the receiver up and punched 911 on the payphone. The answering machine’s blue light flickered, but she had no time to waste on checking messages. Mamm and Emma need help now.
Or they will die.
“911, where is your emergency,” the Dispatcher asked in a uniform tone.
“This is Esther Miller from the bakery. I need an ambulance to my farm right away.” Esther quivered and barely contained the phone handle. She took a deep breath, but it didn’t stop her trembling body or fast heartbeat. “My mother and sister have fallen out a window.”
“I know who you are and where you live. How far did they fall, and are they breathing and have a pulse?”
Esther’s teeth chattered, and her body shook uncontrollably. “No, their heads are shattered in a million pieces.” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “I think they might die if help doesn’t get here right away.”
“I’m sending an ambulance and a firefighter who lives off the main road near your place. Go back to them, but do not move them as it could do more harm than good since they took such a fall.”
“Yes, Ma’am.” Esther hung the phone up, ran with all her might, and when she neared Mamm and Esther, she saw Daed had gotten there. He knelt next to them, blood on his shirt.
“They are g-o-n-e, Esther.” Daed’s words weren’t real. They couldn’t be because an accident like this hadn’t happened to their family. Sure, Emma had been abducted, but she came back alive.
For Emma to come back home to die was not what Esther predicted, but as her eyes met daed’s sad gaze, she knew such a fate had occurred.
Tragedy got the best of her familye now. “Can I do anything, Daed?” She wanted him to say she could help, although she knew there was no help. “Anything?” She crossed her arms over her chest and shivered. “I want to help my mamm and baby schwester.”
“No, Esther. They are now with Gott.” He reached up and brushed his upper arm sleeve against his face, but he didn’t admit tears had shed. He was the man of the place, the one who took hold of the family during hard times.
Esther felt bad for Daed, and she wanted to cry, but her face froze in fear. Had Gott really taken Emma and Mamm home? It seemed like a nightmare, one she would wake up from, although the heaviness in her gut said otherwise. Would God do such a thing after they had waited for Emma’s loving return?
The brisk wind blew stray wisps of hair above Esther’s prayer kapp, and she grimaced, resisted pushing them back behind her ears. All she could think about was Mamm and Emma. If they hadn’t fought, this wouldn’t have happened. Why had Emma been so unruly and stubborn?
As sirens blared, and the sound of a fast-approaching vehicle got louder, Esther was relieved to know help was on the way. Maybe Daed is wrong. Daed was a farmer and master baker, not an ambulance medic, so how could he determine whether someone had perished?
As medics came running over, Esther scooted out of the way. The female, blond-haired medic looked tomboyish and confident as she leaned down and assessed Mamm. The male medic looked over Emma before he turned, exchanged mournful glances with the other medic.
“I’m afraid, they are both dead.” The male medic explained, and Esther felt her body go limp, her mind disappearing in faint shock.
~*~
“Esther, I am so sorry for your loss,” Jacob’s voice sounded far away, his face cloudy as she forced her eyes open. “I’m here for you, and I hope you know that, Esther.”
Her head spun. “My head hurts badly,” she replied in a distressed tone, and he looked around for a nurse just as one walked into the room.
“Mamm, she needs something for a headache.” Jacob nodded toward Esther. “She’s had a pretty stressful day.”
“Losing three members of your family in one year would send shooting pains down anyone’s head. I’ll see what the doctor has ordered.” She walked over, eyed the IV bag, then looked down as she scribbled on the nurse’s chart. Her white-starched nurse’s hat looked small compared to her thick, curly head of black hair, and her liberal amount of strong perfume, one that wasn’t a floral scent, lingered.
“Thank you, Ma’am.” Jacob nodded and smiled.
Esther’s vision increased as she tried to sit up in the bed. “Did you say I lost three people? How is that?” There were no other familye members to jump from the upstairs bedroom. Had the nurse gotten a wrong report?”
Esther felt Jacob squeeze her hand. While it soothed her fear, it still felt awkward because she questioned whether his attention was sincere. It hadn’t been when he’d held her in the truck.
“Your adopted sister who was in the car wreck.” The nurse looked up from the chart, her green eyes warm and comforting. “Your parents never told you about her?” Her brow arched. “Why not?”
“Secrets, we all have them.” Esther rested her head on the pillow, closed her eyes. “I’m not going to judge my parents. I suppose they had good reason in keeping it a secret.”
“You just get some rest, and I’ll get you something for pain. I bet the Bishop’s brother will be in here to care for you like he did for your sister.”
‘I’ll take care of her,” Jacob snapped as if he were jealous of having another man care for Esther.
“Sounds good.” The nurse turned, made her way out of the room, looking down at her clipboard.
Esther reached up and rubbed her temples. “My head hurts badly, Jacob.” She massaged them for a moment, then opened her eyes slowly. “You said you’d care for me? You mean it this time, Jacob?”
His brow wrinkled, and he reached down and straightened the straight pins in her kapp. “You’re not being mischievous this time, so, Jah, I mean it. I will take care of you.”
“Das gut.” Esther drifted off to sleep.
THE END of Volume Seven. You may purchase volume eight by clicking the link. Whoopie Pie Bakers: Volume Eight: An Amish Wedding
Table of Contents
~DEDICATION~
~AMISH WORDS~
~ CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE ~
~ CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX ~
~CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN~